Costa Mesa : Councilman Files Suit Over Political Mailer

City Councilman Dave Wheeler has filed a libel lawsuit against a political foe who sent a mailer to voters in November that inaccurately recounted an incident between Wheeler and a motorist on the San Diego Freeway.

In the mailer, James L. Emerson urged voters to reject candidates supported by slow-growth activist John Gardner, and he cited Wheeler, whose name was not on the ballot, as an example of what he said was the poor quality of the candidates backed by Gardner.

Emerson is a member of developer-backed Costa Mesa Neighbors for a Better Tomorrow. He could not be reached for comment Friday.

The mailer dealt with a March 21, 1984, dispute between Wheeler and Raymond Smith on the San Diego Freeway.

According to a Costa Mesa police report, Wheeler said Smith cut him off and made an obscene gesture. Wheeler then flashed a City Council badge and tried to pull Smith over. Instead, Smith drove to his apartment, followed by Wheeler, ran into his apartment and called police.

Costa Mesa police detected alcohol on Wheeler’s breath and drove him home. No charges were pressed, but the Costa Mesa City Council voted, 3 to 0, to reprimand Wheeler.

At a press conference Friday in his Newport Beach law office, Wheeler acknowledged that he had had several drinks before the incident and that his actions had been “stupid.”

But Wheeler contends that Emerson knew that his letter was false but sent it anyway.

“There is room for error in political debate,” Wheeler said. “This was not an error. It was an outright lie.”

Wheeler said he is pursuing the case, which was filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court, to discourage similar attacks should he decide to run for reelection in 1988. Wheeler’s lawsuit does not demand a specific amount of damages from Emerson.